One year has passed since Saudi Public Investment Fund governor Yasir Al Rumayyan and PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan announced a Framework Agreement to bring men’s golf back together on June 6; However, after a whole year, talks are still going on to strike a settlement that will revive the sport.
On this day a year ago, Saudi Public Investment Fund governor Yasir Al Rumayyan and PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan announced on American TV station CNBC that a Framework Agreement had been agreed to bring men’s professional golf back together.
It was an unexpected move that rocked the sport and caused some early uncertainty, but it also raised hopes that the gap between the established PGA Tour and DP World Tour circuits and the new LIV Golf league could be closed.
However, the men’s professional game is still divided a year after Monahan and Al Rumayyan’s shocking interview, as talks to complete the Framework Agreement continue. Here, we examine what has transpired and what will likely happen next.
Tiger Woods has previously spoken on how they are exploring pathways back for players who left the PGA Tour for LIV Golf.
None of the players on the LIV side were any the wiser before the Framework Agreement was announced either, but Mickelson posted on social media: “An awesome day today.”
What has happened since and is a deal closer to being finalised?
A date of December 31, 2023 was set to conclude the deal to bring men’s professional golf back together, but that passed without the Framework Agreement being ratified and negotiations are still ongoing.
Monahan gave his most recent update on negotiations ahead of The Players Championship in March where he insisted progress was being made.
“Our negotiations are accelerating as we spend time together,” Monahan said. “While we have several key issues that we still need to work through, we have a shared vision to quiet the noise and unlock golf’s worldwide potential.
Rich Beem believes PGA Tour’s partnership with Strategic Sports Group is a ‘positive step’ in helping players feel like they are part of the tour
“It’s going to take time, but I reiterate what I said at the Tour Championship in August. I see a positive outcome for the PGA Tour and the sport as a whole.”
As of yet, however, there has still been no announcement as to whether or indeed when any formal agreement between PIF, the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour will be signed.
The PGA Tour had previously secured a $3bn investment as part of a partnership deal with the Strategic Sports Group though, with the agreement announced in February.
That deal being concluded still allows for co-investment from PIF as well. However, the PGA Tour’s executive has been hit by departures in the past 12 months.
Rory McIlroy said Jimmy Dunne’s resignation from the PGA Tour policy board was a ‘huge loss’ as talks continued to unify men’s golf
Randall Stephenson, of AT&T, resigned from the board abruptly last summer over the proposed deal with PIF and in the last month alone, Dunne and board member Mark Flaherty resigned.
McIlroy, so long one of the most public defenders of the PGA Tour against LIV, announced he was resigning as one of the six players on the policy board last November. The Northern Irishman had a change of heart this year, but recently failed in a bid to re-join the board to help speed negotiations along.
What happens next?
That remains the billion-dollar question. The PGA Tour is still negotiating for PIF to become an investor, but it took until March for the players on the Tour Enterprises board to meet with Al Rumayyan.
Jordan Spieth, who replaced McIlroy on the policy board, insisted two weeks ago that any suggestions that negotiations are “in a bad place and are moving slowly” are not true.
Rory McIlroy explained why he will not be rejoining the PGA Tour Policy Board, admitting it was ‘complicated’ and ‘messy’
“I think ultimately we’ll end up in a place where professional golf is maybe the best that it’s ever been,” Spieth said ahead of the Charles Schwab Challenge. “I think both sides believe that.”
One of the major issues to be resolved is around how LIV players will be integrated back into the PGA and DP World Tour structure, along with what the future of the team-based series will be if men’s golf is reunited.
Those on the LIV side, who have been joined by two-time major champion Jon Rahm and Ryder Cup star Tyrrell Hatton this year, are adamant that whatever is agreed, their series is going to be around for a long time to come.
“I think we all believe that the product we’re playing in right now is strong and we don’t think it’s going to go away anytime soon,” former US Open champion Graeme McDowell said ahead last month’s tournament in Singapore. “I think there’s a lot of positives for the fan with the team element.
“There’s just so many good things that we’re doing out here. I really feel like the trajectory is moving us in the right direction, and I don’t think this product is going anywhere anytime soon regardless of any mergers.
“We’re very, very happy with what we’re doing and with the product that we’re playing in.”
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